Improvement in corn-planter



boxes, and

'nited fittest .Lctters Patent No. 95,085, dated September 21, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN CORN-PLAIITERI The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patentand making part'of the same To an whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAM-ES S. Conn, of Attica, in the county of Fountain, and in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Planters; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the/letters of reference marked thereon, making apart of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the constructionand general arrangement of a corn-planter, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

' In -order to' enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring .to, the annexed drawings, in which-' I Figurel is-a plan View, and

Figure 2, a vertical section of the machine.

Figure 3 is a vertical'section of one of the corn- Figure 4 is'a' bottom view of the rear portion of one of the runners. V

A represents the axle of the 1 machine, to each end of which is secured a wheel, B. I Theaxle A has its bearings outside of the wheels, in theends of a large curved lever, O, which forms, as it were a semicircle in front of the axle and -wheels.

At suitable points in front of the wheels B B, in the lever O, is pivoted a bar, D. This bar is, at each end, provided with a metal plate, a, which is curved slightly upward at the rear end, and here, on the outer side, provided with a pin, 1), which is inserted into a hole in the lever 0, thus forming the piyotson which the bar D works.

Under each end of the bar D is secured a runner, E, which extends forward a suitable distance. The

. vfront ends of the runners E E are connected, by means of a cross-bar, 13, to the centre of which the tongue G is secured, the rear end of said tongue being in some suitable manner secured to the front side of the bar D.

The runners E D are constructed in the peculiar shape shown infig. 2, and near the rear ends they are forked, as shown, and a back-piece, (1, put on at the upper .half, forming a triangular box under the bar D, through which the corn is dropped into the round.

At each end of the bar D, on the upper side, is

I placed abox, H, to contain the corn to be dropped.

A shaft, or roller, I, is placed on top, along the bar v D, passing into the boxes H H, and having its bearings in the same. In the-centre of the boxes H'H there is a hole,'or recess, in the shaft I,- so thata grain of corn may fall into thesame, the shaft then turned around,and the corn fall through auopening' in the bar D,and through the rear part of the cutter E; into the ground.

On the opposite side of the shaft I is another similar. hole, or recess, as seen in fig. 3,-so that when the shaftis turned alternately, from side to side, it will deposit corn each time.

The shaft I is operated by the dropper from his seat J by the following means: The seat-J is supported on suitable standards from the bar D, and on-one side of the seat arod, 11, projects, to the outer end of which a lever, K, is pivoted. The end of the lever K is, by abe1t,e, connected with the shaft I, so'that the operator can, by turning the lever on its pivot, from side to side, turn the shaft sufficiently to drop the corn.

To prevent the shaft I from turning too far, I provide the bar D with a pin, 'i, on each side of the shaft, and on the shaft is placed a pin, or stop, s, which, as the shaft is turned from side to side, alter nately strikes the two pins, and stops the. shaft at the proper time.

Above the shaft I, and running along the same, placed a spring-rod, f, the ends of which pass into the boxes H H, and are turned slightly'upward in the same. This rod f is so placed, that when the shaft I turns, the stop s on the same will cause the rod to'vibrate, and consequently agitate the corn in the boxes.

If it is desired to drop the corn automatically, this can readily be accomplished by removing the belt 0 and the pins 125,1?11611 attaching a cross-belt from a pulley, L, on the shaft or axle A to the shaft I, when the ,said shaft will obtain a rotary motion.

Within the corn-boxes H H, on each side of the shaft 1, is placed a cut-off, h, of rubber or other pliable material, with the edge nearest to the shaft curved upward, as seen in fig. 3, so that when a grain of corn, catches it will be; forced upward and slightly backward. By this means the shaft will work smoother and easier, with less friction, and, consequently, less wear.

On the front side of the bar D are hinged two arms, M, curved over'thesame, and then straight extending toward the rear, resting on the axle A, having a platform, N, secured to their upper sides, for the driver to stand? on. 7

On the tongue G, or rather on the side of the tongue,-

is pivoted a rod, 0, having a hook,.'m, a t its upper end, in which the curved lever O-is placed when the machine is in operation. 5

On the rod O is a slide, P, secured at any point de-.

sired by a thumb-screw, and having a hook, min which the lever may be held.-

It will be seen that the runners, or furrow-openers ,E E can. be raised out of the ground for the purpose of turning and transportation, it being done by both dropper and driver. The driver, standing back upon the platform N, operates in favor of the dropper, raising the runners by the lever C. By this means it is not necessary for either the dropper or the driver to get off when turning, and the runners may be raised over any obstructions without stopping.

The rod 0 and slide P serve to hold the lever G at any desired point, so as to run the runners any desired depth in the ground.

Having thus fully described my invention,

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isw 1. In combination with the shaft I and boxes H H,

' the cut-off 71, of rubber or other pliable material, substantially as set forth.

2. The arrangement of the bar D, runners E E, and connecting-bar 1 substantially as shown and described.

3. The spring-rod f, constructed as described, and 

